"Kwentuhan": Disputing the Primacy of Argumentation as Critique

Maria Lovelyn Paclibar

25 NOVEMBER 2023

5PM-7PM Philippine Standard Time (GMT+8)

VIA ZOOM

Registration link: https://forms.gle/PDkTeCEQaKM5vZAt7 

Abstract: Argumentation, described as a reflexive form of discourse, has always been privileged in ethical-political deliberations. It is considered as the mode of communication that works for post-conventional societies wrought by conflicting ethical and political claims. It is valued for its abstract character, and for providing clarity needed for critique. As such, argumentation naturally becomes the measure for alternative modes of interaction in their ability to stimulate critique, and to facilitate rational conflict resolution.  In this paper, I explore the possibility of framing kwentuhan, a cluster of modes of communication among Filipinos such as nag-uusap (coming to agreements), nagtatalo (friendly competition), and narrative sharing, as a way to dispute the general primacy of argumentation as a form of critique. By drawing on Iris Marion Young’s reflections on inclusive forms of political communication, and Judith Butler’s transversal forms of solidarity, I bracket the tendency to use argumentation as measure for the critical potential of kwentuhan. I examine the ways in which kwentuhan, in its own right,  has served as a site for articulation, clarification, and thus, critique.

Speaker bionote: Maria Lovelyn Paclibar is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. Her doctoral dissertation explores the implications of Jürgen Habermas’s shifts in his conception of solidarity and religion to education. Her current research is on the political and sociological conception of solidarity, its pre-cognitive sources, its embodied aspect, and its ability to anchor modern democracy. She is also working on articulating Philippine concepts related to solidarity, authority and education from a decolonized perspective. She is a member of the Research in Political Philosophy Leuven (RIPPLE). She has published with Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture and Hapag: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Theological Research.

About Beyond the Ghetto (BTG): BTG is a subgroup of the Philippines-based Women Doing Philosophy. We are dedicated to celebrating the works of women philosophers and promoting their presence in the philosophy classroom.

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